Protection
by Little Doctor
Summary: MCU one-shots centered around Peter and Tony and their adorable father-son relationship. 1. Peter accepts a dare from Flash and is injured. Tony picks him up from school. 2. Peter is kidnapped by an enemy of Ironman. Irondad Tony to the rescue.
1. Protection

**Father!Tony and Peter: Protection**

Summary: Peter accepts a dare from Flash and is injured. Tony picks him up from school.

* * *

Peter frowned at the fence in front of him. This would be so much easier if he was wearing his suit. The fastest way out was forward and above that fence, but it wasn't the most legal way out. On the other hand, he didn't have that much time before class started. Peter rolled his eyes. So much for being nice, safe, and legal. Tony would kill him if he found out.

Fifteen minutes left until class started and Peter ran like hell. Everything was going to be fine. Peter would be done with this stupid dare. He was gonna make it to class on time like the A plus student he was. And he was gonna- oh shit.

Another fence loomed over Peter, larger and more menacing than the first. The barbed wire curled like the sinuous curve of a viper and seemed to taunt him. The spikes gleamed in the early morning sun.

'No going back now, little spider,' crooned the fence, 'Are you going to wait here and get arrested or get caught in my web?'

Peter looked at the fence. He craned his neck back to see the top of the fence. It looked difficult, certainly impossible for the average person, but maybe doable for spiderman.

Peter took a deep breath and psyched himself up. Twelve minutes left until he needed to be at class. Peter launched himself at the fence, the barbed wire zooming at him far too fast for Peter's comfort. Peter braced himself. He was going to make it!

Peter's foot caught on the barbed wire and dug deep in it. A blinding pain hit Peter a couple seconds after, and Peter's epic leap quickly became a tragic fall.

The trees swooped by and bloodied scratches appeared on Peter's arms. It was lucky for Peter the trees broke his fall, since he would've surely broken an arm if he'd landed on it without the trees. As it was, his arm was merely bruised.

Ten minutes left. Peter resigned himself to being late.

* * *

(Thirty minutes after class starts)

Peter quietly opened the door. Thankfully today wasn't a test day. Even still, Ms. Russo, a middle-aged brunette, paused mid-lecture and turned to semi-glare at Peter who, cheeks flaming, handed her a tardy slip and crept to his desk.

"Now as I was saying, the current political climate makes things very interesting for Congress, and the House in particular . . . "

Peter tuned her out. He was more focused on making sure his scratched arms were covered by a baggy sweatshirt.

"Oh my god, is that blood?" the girl sitting next to Peter shrieked.

Peter glanced down. Of course his foot was bleeding.

"Mr. Parker, please escort yourself to the nurse."

Followed by the stares of his classmates, Peter limped out of the room and flashed a thumbs up to Ned on the way out. Mr. Stark was going to kill him.

* * *

This was bad. This was very bad. Peter winced as the nurse cleaned the wound with hydrogen peroxide.

She glared at him, muttering something about stupid teenagers.

"Now, Mr. Parker, we have to call your parents."

At least she was only calling Aunt May.

"Huh, your primary contact isn't answering."

Peter prayed for Mr. Stark not to answer, but knew the chances were slim. Mr. Stark always had some piece of technology on him and would doubtlessly be able to do something as simple as answer a phone. Peter couldn't believe he'd agreed to the dare in the first place. He'd let Flash egg him on until his anger rose to the bait.

"Hello, this is Nurse Sandy calling from Midtown School of Science and Technology. You are listed as the secondary contact for Peter Parker. He's gotten into an accident and needs to be picked up." After a pause, she put the phone back.

"Well your secondary contact is very prompt, Mr. Parker."

Peter groaned and rubbed his head with his hand. He was so screwed.

* * *

Tony was not expecting a call from anyone in the middle of a conference, let alone Peter's school. Tony liked to think of himself as a chill guy, but he was mildly panicking at the nurse's information.

Tony abruptly stood up.

"Gotta go, kid issues. FRIDAY, represent me. Love you Pepper."

He blew her a kiss.

The circle of greying men looked at Tony in bemusement while Pepper rolled her eyes. Tony hastily walked out of the room, unknowingly mirroring Peter's actions. He broke into a sprint the second he slipped out of the door.

As Tony's suit melted onto him, he called Happy to drive to Midtown School of Science and Technology.

Tony stormed through the school, startling teens on break. Once they realized who he was, he was swarming with fans.

"Hey!" he raised his voice just above noise level, "Get out of my way. I am here to pick up my- my child, not sign autographs."

Well, Peter was practically his child.

Miraculously, the crowd cleared and Tony was able to make his way through the blob of astonished high schoolers.

Tony reached the nurse's office.

"Peter! You're alright."

He hugged Peter ferociously, because even though he knew Peter wasn't mortally injured, there was still a niggling suggestion that he could be.

The nurse coughed. Tony grinned at her, a relieved, exhausted grin. A red flush bloomed on her cheeks.

"Mr. Stark. I wasn't aware that you were Mr. Parker's secondary contact."

Peter groaned into Tony's shoulder.

"I'm here to pick Peter up. Are there forms I need to sign, 'cause Happy's waiting outside . . ."

He trailed off and looked at her expectantly.

"Oh, of course. Go to the office and sign him out."

"Oh no. It's still break," moaned Peter.

"Embarrassed to be seen with me?" Tony joked, "Don't worry kid, we'll be home soon."

Peter cautiously opened the door. There were about fifty kids standing outside all waiting to get a peek of Ironman. Flash was one of them, Peter noted with amusement.

Tony shouldered his way past Peter, careful not to jostle him too much.

"Come on kid, Happy won't wait forever."

Peter chuckled a little and hesitantly followed behind Tony, who confidently strutted through the halls. It was like Peter was a celebrity. Voices began murmuring as the crowd parted for Tony and Peter. Peter saw glimpses of people he knew, all staring in amazement as Tony, the real celebrity here, took Peter home.

"Yo," Tony snapped, "Stop staring. Are you people for real?"

Everyone hurriedly looked away. Before they did, Peter noticed a gaping Flash and inwardly giggled.

Tony and Peter carried on, striding (or in Peter's case limping) through the school. The halls seemed far longer than usual and Peter couldn't wait to get out.

At long last they reached Happy and the limo. As they settled in, Peter glanced at the school and saw more wide eyes and phones out, probably recording Peter getting in the limo.

"So, what happened kid?"

"I, uh, did something stupid and I really regret it. It doesn't have anything to do with Spiderman though, don't worry."

Tony laughed.

"Okay, we'll worry about it later." Beat. "I'm just glad you're alright."

Tony hugged Peter awkwardly to his side.

"At least you're less of a trouble maker than I was, but I still have to tell your Aunt May," Tony said, suddenly stern.

"That I can deal with," said Peter. He knew he would be in trouble later, but for now, he leaned into his surrogate-father's side and closed his eyes. Life was pretty good.


	2. Insidious

Father!Tony and Son!Peter(Insidious)

Summary: Peter is kidnapped by an enemy of Ironman. Tony to the rescue. Kind of a continuation of Protection, but you don't need to read it to understand it.

Word count: 1415

* * *

If thunder and lightning flashed, it couldn't have set the mood better for Peter's day. Storm clouds of fear were brewing in his head and his furiously beating heart stirred up his frustration at his life.

The grim walls of school closed up around Peter and he just wanted to scream and cry at the same time. He hadn't seen Tony in weeks, and he missed his dad.

Peter was also scared for him.

Tony had promised to only be gone for two weeks, which turned into three, and into nearly a month.

Peter didn't know what to do.

The vapid, mind numbing conversations swelled around him. Peter was a floating grain of sand in a vast, careless ocean. If Ned were here, he could pull him out of this funk. But, Ned wasn't here, and Peter hadn't seen anyone he cared to talk to today.

The rain began pounding on the ground, and students shrieked, rushing inside. Peter embraced the sound of rainfall, the chatter of teenagers already distant in his mind. The rain was soothing. It was a monotone white noise that calmed him down and allayed his fears.

Peter closed his eyes and let his senses be swallowed up by the tempestuous downpour.

A soft _shtick_ jolted Peter out of his timeless reverie. He slowly opened his eyes. The bell hadn't rung yet, so most of the students were in the cafeteria, enjoying the heater and warm food.

Peter cautiously looked around, and relaxed when he saw Lina, a fellow student.

"Hey Peter," she called, "why're you standing out there?"

"Oh, umm, I don't know," he replied, and started walking toward her, heedless of the rain soaking in his bones.

A sharp pain speared up his leg and Peter fell and cried out.

His legs were numb and the feeling was quickly spreading to the rest of his body.

He looked up at Lina to ask for help, but saw her smirking in a way he'd never seen her smirk before.

She bent down close to him and smiled, canines bared.

"Oh no, Spiderman had an oopsie," she whispered.

Peter's eyes fluttered closed and his head hit the ground like a rock.

* * *

Peter woke to a quiet, computer-whirring room.

He tried to say something, but just sputtered and choked on a gag.

A couple people milled about, but when he tried to get their attention they just ignored him.

Lina stepped in the room followed by three menacing-looking guards.

"If I remove the gag, will you scream?" she asked. Peter took a look at the guards, and shook his head.

"Where am I? What are you going to do to me?" Peter was shocked at how hoarse his voice was.

Lina paused and pursed her lips, one hand on her hip. She looked so self-satisfied, and Peter couldn't believe this was the person he had shared his English notes with just a week ago.

"I don't think you really need to know where you are, do you?" she asked, smirking, "And as for what we'll do with you, the answer is nothing."

"What? Then can I leave?"

"Nope," she said, popping the p, and turned to leave.

"You're going to regret this," Peter said, grinding his teeth.

Peter launched himself, still tied to his chair, at Lina, but was swatted away by a guard.

He flipped over and aimed his webs at Lina, desperate for something.

Nothing came out.

Alarmed, Peter tried breaking the chair, but it was made of metal and Peter's strength was scarily drained.

One blow from a guard sent him reeling back dazed.

Lina laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous. We can't let our bait escape," she motioned to one of the guards, "gag and treat him again. Move him to cell A4."

Peter clenched his mouth shut, but they pinched his nose until he had to breathe. The last thing Peter remembered thinking was that the side of his jaw was going to be very, very sore for the next couple of days.

* * *

Peter woke up on and off over the next couple days. When they let him go to the bathroom, Peter searched every nook and cranny for a way out. He fought the guards every step of the way and even made it down a creepy, dimly lit hallway before they caught him. They dragged him, screaming, into a musty cell and sedated him again.

A couple times, they added color to his face when he fought them.

It seemed hopeless and Peter found himself more drained every time they applied the drug.

Once, on a trip to the bathroom, Peter caught a glimpse of Lina pacing back and forth. She was psychotically angry, and threw a china plate at the wall.

"Why isn't he coming?!" he heard her say and then something else shattered.

Much to Peter's dismay, the guard who was escorting him dragged him away once he noticed Peter slowing.

* * *

It was two weeks in and Peter had a solid plan.

"Hey!" he yelled, "I need to go to the bathroom here! I think I'm gonna piss myself!"

He heard a guard groan. By now, they rarely bothered with the masks. Peter liked that because it made them less threatening and easier to identify. This one was the one Peter nicknamed Bob the Builder because of his screwed up toolbelt-looking pockets.

Bob the Builder was easily the stupidest of the guards, and probably only chosen because of his height.

"Come on, let's make this quick," Bob said.

Peter actually did go to the bathroom, but as they were walking back to the cell,

Peter pretended to bump into Bob and fell, his hands casually landing in the guard's pocket.

"Oh oops!" Peter said, "sorry."

He palmed the guard's phone and continued into his cell.

The guard growled, but apparently decided not to do anything about it.

Peter knew he had to be quick, and hunched over in criss-cross applesauce, like he was wallowing in misery. This was all a show for the cameras who luckily couldn't see the glowing iPhone Peter held in his hand.

Peter took a screenshot of Google Maps and his location before sending it in a group text to Tony, Pepper, and the other Avengers or responsible adults he knew.

 _It's Peter Parker_ he wrote _and I've been kidnapped please send help!_

 _Don't text back, this is one of my kidnapper's phones_ he sent.

He followed up with a scared face emoji, amusing yet terrifying.

Peter quickly deleted the chat and cleared the phone's history of the numbers he put in.

He slid the phone through the bars and as far away from him as possible.

Now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

Peter heard a crash and a thump.

"Who the hell are you!" someone yelled, but was quickly silenced.

Hope thudded in Peter's chest. Could it be? After two weeks? Was he being rescued?

"Hey!" Peter yelled, "I'm over here! Peter Parker is over here!"

With weak muscles, Peter rammed into the bars.

A red suit with bronze lines marched up to Peter's cell.

"Stand back kid," Tony's voice said and Peter quickly moved to the right.

Tony blasted the lock and entered the cell.

His face mask slid off and Peter looked into Tony Stark's thunderous, concerned face.

"I'm gonna kill those bastards," Tony promised as he took in Peter's malnourished, drugged body.

"No," Peter said, "It's not worth it, let's just get out of here."

A guard with a gun ran up to Tony, but Tony blasted him without even looking.

Tony furiously looked up.

"I'll kill those bastards after I get you to safety," Tony said, "no take backs."

Without pausing, Tony took Peter in his arms and sprinted through the halls and up staircases Peter had ever known about. Peter realized they really were underground and felt an amazing amount of relief wash over him as he saw the blue sky for the first time in weeks.

Tony plowed through everyone and soared up through the sky window, Peter still in his arms.

Bystanders gasped and got out their phones, but Tony ignored them and landed to his feet, urgently talking to Jarvis.

An ambulance was waiting and Peter was carried onto it.

The face of the nurse stared concernedly down at him.

Finally, it was over.

It was a while before Peter was able to go back to normal. In fact, he freaked out when he was mobbed back at school.

But his dad was here.

So everything was alright.


	3. Stargazing

Father!Tony and Hallucination!Peter Parker Reader: Stargazing

Summary: Tony only has five more days before he runs out of water.

Day 1:

There wasn't enough water on board.

The ship was stocked with enough food for twenty days, but the water would only last for another three. If Tony drank only half of what he should drink, it would stretch another five.

The vast emptiness of space filled Tony's vision. His ship was a little pebble in an ocean of nothingness.

Tony felt a wave of despair crash over him, but he shook his head. He had to pull through.

For Peter.

Day 2:

Tony started to make a video diary.

He choked on tears and regrets as he remembered meeting Peter such a young kid, so naive and vulnerable.

Tony found a broken oxygen mask in the belly of the ship but it only reminded him of Starlord.

Day 3:

Tony's throat felt dry as the desert.

"I don't think I'm going to make it," he croaked to the video diary. He could almost hear Peter telling him, "Don't give up now Mr. Stark! You're so close!"

In fact, he could almost see Peter's youthful face grinning up at him.

It was so real, and it invoked a sense of valiant determination in Tony, suppressing the fatalistic despair.

Peter was taken unfairly from the world and Tony would be the one to get him back.

The ghost of Peter drifted in front of his eyes, and Tony pushed the tears away. He couldn't afford to lose much more liquid.

The hope Tony felt was so real.

He could almost believe it.

Day 4:

Peter appeared more often now. He would stay longer, and although it reminded Tony so much of what he had lost, it comforted him in a way.

After all, there's only so long a man can be alone for.

The pale hallucination of Peter sat cross-legged in front of Tony.

"You holding in there Mr. Stark?" he asked.

It was so hard to look at Peter without being swallowed up in sadness, so Tony kept his eyes toward rewiring the oxygen mask.

"Not as well as I hoped," Tony said.

"You know it's not your fault I'm dead," Peter said, "I can see you avoiding me."

"Yeah, well, it hurts to look at you," Tony said.

"So look anyway."

Peter's face drifted in front of Tony's.

"But I'm not real, so it doesn't matter anyway," Peter said and Tony froze.

His coping mechanisms did not work well when confronted with reality.

"I have to go now," Peter said, checking his watch.

"What? Why?" grief edged Tony's voice.

It was hard to look at Peter but it was even worse when he wasn't there.

Peter was already gone.

Day 5:

Tony was delirious.

He'd finished the last of his water in the morning, or what passed for a morning anyway.

There was no day or night on the ship- just dim lights and less-dim lights.

Peter was a constant companion today.

"I think you know the time for grief is past Mr. Stark."

"What are you, my guidance counselor?" Tony wheezed. Apparently oxygen was running out too.

There weren't enough parts to fix the oxygen mask, and Tony was dying anyway. Better to spend time with the person he cared most for in the world anyway.

"Mr. Stark! Look at that nebula!"

And what a nebula it was: swirling purple clouds intertwined with the sparkle of rusty orange dust.

"It's beautiful," Tony breathed.

Peter floated up to be next to him.

"Isn't it," Peter replied, a wistful look on his face.

And that's how Tony Stark, Ironman, and a man of so many other epithets spent his last waking moments- stargazing with his son at the most untouchable beauty our universe can produce.


End file.
